The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) expressed its concern about the status of religious minorities and religious freedoms in Egypt. USCIRF's 2013 Annual Report stated despite the progress made by the transitional government in advancing religious freedoms, and a noticeable decrease in deaths and injuries related to sectarian violence, systematic abuse of religious minorities continues. It states that the government has failed to protect religious minorities from violence and legislation remains backward, despite some progress in the granting of identity papers to Bahā’īs and converts to Christianity, and the government has not sufficiently addressed the anti-Semitism in state media. The report observed that just as under the previous government, the government controls religious associations like mosques and places of worship. It urged the U.S. to put pressure on the government to prosecute the perpetrators of sectarian violence, to reform to improve religious freedoms, and to guarantee the security of religious minorities, and for the U.S. to stop considering religious affairs as Egypt internal affairs. The report also called for a postponement of military aid to Egypt until the government proves it is enacting policies to protect religious freedoms and human rights. U.S. Republican Congressmen Chris Smith (Author’s note: al-Misrī al-Yawm made an error, honorable Chris Smith is from the House of Representatives not a Senate) said that the U.S. will do more to ensure that aid is not used to commit serious human and religious rights abuses ('Alā’ ‘Abdullah, al-Misrī al-Yawm, May 2, p. 4). Read original text in Arabic.